Guide to best practices for generalising sensitive/primary species occurrence-data. Version 1.0.

Abstract

The unprotected distribution of Sensitive Primary Species Occurrence Data (for example the exact localities of rare, endangered or commercially valuable taxa) has been a concern of the GBIF Secretariat since its beginning. In early 2006, GBIF initiated a process to address this issue, especially in relation to data to be shared through the GBIF network and made visible through the GBIF Data Portal. A review of current approaches for obscuring or generalising such data was initiated in February 2006 and an on-line survey conducted through Survey Monkey1 . A separate report on the results was made available via the GBIF Web site2 in early June 2006 (Chapman 2006). An experts’ workshop was then held in early March 2007 that focussed on the various technical issues involved (Chapman 2007a). A final report on Dealing with Sensitive Primary Species Occurrence Data was developed following these processes and discussions, and was presented to GBIF in April 2007 (Chapman 2007b). It is available via the GBIF Web site. This report made a number of recommendations, and many of these are included in this document. The final step in this process has been to develop a Guide to Best Practices. This document should be seen as an overriding guideline for institutions, data providers and GBIF Nodes to use to develop their own in-house guidelines. Organisations and institutions should produce their own internal document that incorporates the practices outlined in this document and related documents such as the Guide to Best Practices in Georeferencing (Chapman and Wieczorek 2006) and incorporate them into their own working environment. It is also important to understand the possible impact that approaches for restricting sensitive data may have on biodiversity science and, while restricting the availability or resolution of certain data, not overly restricting the uses to which the data may be put. For that reason, a set of principles are elucidated below. Key among these is the need to make biodiversity information freely available wherever possible, in the interests of science, the environment and the biodiversity itself. Two issues that this document has not covered, because they will need further discussion and agreement before robust recommendations can be made, are the issues of the privacy of living individuals and the development of Data Sharing and Data License Agreements. Both of these issues have legal implications and vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Recommendations were made in the Report on Dealing with Sensitive Species Occurrence Data (Chapman 2007) for GBIF to further explore these issues